15 Für 15: Kirchenleben

I feel like I have neglected this challenge but hey, that´s really no fault of mine…Kind of! Try sitting by the Computer, bent over and trying to not bother the long assed scar that itches like your life depends on it!

So anyways, I am not a very religious woman, but I do however believe in God, Angels, Heaven and of course our saviour Jesus Christ. Pretty religious for one who claims to not be religious abi? Well, I´m not ashamed to admit I do not go to church every sunday, or say my prayers and read the bible daily. Do I have faith in the goodness that comes with Christianity? Sometimes. Do I have faith when I remember to pray, in time of need I should shamelessly admit. Well my faith may not be very strong, but ist there and I get so relieved when something works out after a silent prayer. When Gorgeousness leaves for work and gets on the train home, I pray for his safe return home. When he walks to the nearest store just for a Baguette and takes longer than expected, I pray. When we both have ein wichtiger Termin, I pray. sometimes, we pray before bed.

My point being, yes, I´m a Christian and have just enough faith to take me thru the day. Do I want more? Duh of course but I believe the littlest of faith is still not bad eh?!

So, Gorgeousness was born into an Evangelisch Kirche and is basically a registered member and so every month, he pays his tithe to the church and that is def mandatory as it gets taken out before he gets his income. Ok so it isn´t called tithe but church tax and I say tithe because it is 9% of his monthly income. Correct me if I´m wrong but isn´t that also tithe? Well 10% but same thing.

We once thought about leaving the church to register later so we could save all that tithe but later agreed not to. It may not seem like much but little miracles that come our way I attach it to the wonders of paying your tithe as a Christian.

not very fairy tale like and couldnt go in to take more pics. inside is so amazing!

just had to do a little naomi campbell! weather was amazing!

How does it begin? You are born, then baptized into the church as a child and registered into the church thru the government or maybe other way around…Point is, there´s paper work involved. So there you are until you either change religion and leave or just leave and of course, a pile of paper work is def involved with this process….remember how much in love the Germans are with paper work!

Once you become a tax payer, the 9% is deducted from your salary and given to the church. The reason I like this method is it takes away all that drama in church where you are asked to place your tithe in an envelope and a special prayer and thanksgiving is done(not that I don´t like the prayer part). Sure you are still expected to give something to the church when you attend a service but at least you don´t feel bad when you really have no spare change to give and it is not mandatory.

By the way, I´m not really certain how registration works with ein Ausländer and I would probably want to register later once we start having kids cos as far as the State is concerned, I do not belong to any religion. I would probably talk to a priest about first getting baptized and then starting the paper work that follows.

Anyways, another great thing about this method I love is being able to marry in the church without all that (again) drama of finding a priest who would do it sans all that wahala. Apparently, if you aren´t registerd in a church, then any plans you have of doing your wedding inside a church has to die a painful death! Speaking of death, as a registered member, you get to be buried in the motuary of the church grounds…not really sure about this one as my research didn´t go that far(who wants to think about that now abi) Cremation anyone?!